Help Save The Medora Brick Plant; Vote on USA Today

You can help a newly formed nonprofit in Jackson County hopes to earn grant money to save the former Medora Brick Plant by voting in a poll on USA Today.

The Medora Brick Plant and Historical Sites committee, formerly known as Save the Medora Brick Plant, recently released a video showcasing a brief history of the plant and the role it played in the community for most of the 20th century.

50 men produced over 54,000 bricks a day, six days a week when the plant was in full production.

It has been closed for 25 years and the site has fallen into disrepair.

The group is in the process of taking ownership of the old brick plant, which is among Indiana Landmarks Most Endangered historic sites.

The video also highlights some of the proposed plans for the six-acre site southwest of town.

The video was made to meet the guidelines of USA Today Network’s A Community Thrives contest. The contest prizes include a $100,000 grant for the winner and two $50,000 grants for the runner-ups.

The contest is divided into three categories: Wellness, arts and culture and education, and 10 finalists will be picked in each category. Videos can only be entered in one category, and the final three will be selected by a panel of judges. The Medora video will be entered in the arts and culture category.

To make it into the top 10, they need everyone to vote – at act.usatoday.com – Select the Save the Medora Brick Plant video to vote for it. The video can be viewed before voting begins.

Voting ends May 12th.

The video was produced with the help of Bill Klaes of Klaes Image Productions in Seymour.

The grant would make improvements at the plant, which opened Aug. 2, 1904, and continued to produce bricks until the day before Thanksgiving in 1990. A crew of less than 60 produced 54,000 bricks a day for years. Medora brick was used for in many buildings around the Midwest, including those on the campus of colleges and universities.

Students from Ball State University designed several examples of what the plant could look like, given enough funding.

The four proposed designs for the site soon will be on display at the Jackson County Visitor Center in Seymour.